His Wolf (Wolf of My Heart) (22 page)

The judges leaned toward one another. I heard frantic whispering.

"We've tried not to micromanage, but fair is fair," said Danu. When the judges continued their hushed consultation, she clicked her perfectly manicured, blood red nails together a couple of times and slowly smiled. "I'm taking that as a yes. Therefore, you will execute Steven Yarbrough immediately. He attacked and bit Bronte, which means he is more than just a threat to my descendants. He has inflicted bodily harm that will forever impact her existence. We can't risk any more of that, now can we?"

Counselor Ainsworth began to stammer. "B-but we're in the p-process of extracting valuable information from him about
le bras du
loup
."

"Oh my gods.
You haven't eliminated those outlaws yet? What is taking so long?" She rolled her gorgeous eyes. "Honestly, boys. You should consult with Goddess
Justitia
. She's over your division, isn't she? In fact, why don't I do that for you?" Danu pulled a dainty emerald cell phone from her jacket pocket.

I could tell none of the Counselors like that idea one bit. Since I didn't know who
Justitia
was, I wasn't sure why.

"Oh very well.
You take care of your business, and we'll take care of ours." Counselor Ainsworth picked up his fancy wooden gavel and banged it solidly on the sound block. "The case against Bronte
Hannigan
is henceforth dismissed." He banged it again. "The case against Erik Thorne is, as well."

The television screen immediately went to black, but the audio remained.

"That Danu is nothing thing but trouble," muttered one of the Counselors.
Vladislav
, maybe?

"Yes," answered another. "But you have to admit she has style."

Danu smiled to no one. "Why thank you, Broderick."

Static blasted over the
mic
, followed by silence. Naturally we all burst out laughing. I jumped up and rushed over to Danu, grabbing her hands in mine. "Thank you
soooo
much."

"It was my pleasure. I haven't had this much fun in ages."

"Are you the reason I survived the truck crash?"

"I might've had a little something to do with that, though not nearly as much as you think. You’re a very special descendant, Bronte--a rare jewel. You have untapped magic within. Don't be afraid to draw on the power of nature.  We're of the earth, you know--goddesses of the land, the sky, and the water."

Goddesses plural?
Was she including me? An unformed, bothersome question lurked, waiting to be asked. Too awed by Danu to put it into words, I asked an easier one. "Did you send Erik to me?"

"That was actually someone else, though I did approve it." With a mysterious laugh, she turned to the three men who were now cautiously approaching. "You've done a great job helping Bronte today. I won't forget it."

They all nodded. Captivated by her smile as they were, I sincerely doubted they could actually speak.

Danu left us to walk over to Erik, who stood next to the door and seemed very anxious to get out of there. She kept her voice low, but I still heard her. "Stop worrying, okay? What you feel is real."

His eyes widened.

"And Erik?
Be good to our daughter."

"Right.
Of course.
Always."
He started to say something else, but seemed to decide against it.

"Go ahead and speak your mind," said Danu. "You may never have another chance."

Erik nodded. "I was just wondering…if they'd made me take the cure, would I still be Bronte's life
mate?
"

"Yes. You two are truly fated. So sentencing her to a dungeon and you to the witch's cure would've been a travesty, indeed, since the two of you could never again have loved as completely as you can and will now." She cupped his chin briefly. "Since you seem a little anxious about this, I feel I should warn you that the mates of my children are privileged and fall into a very special category all their own. So don't be surprised if you find you can do some things you didn't know you could do, and I'm not talking about shifting." Danu slipped past Erik only to turn and catch my eye. "Oh, and Bronte, I almost forgot… Erin sends her love. And just so you know, she was the one who influenced your mate's walk through the woods. Now I know why." With that, she gave us a pageant wave and left.

"Who's Erin?" asked Erik.

"My mom."
I think I would've fallen if Lucas Norris hadn't taken me by the arm and led me to a chair. Erik quickly joined me, squatting to ask, "Are you okay?"

"Never better.
Just a little…shell shocked, I guess."

Norris picked up his briefcase from the floor and began stuffing papers in it. Crane snapped his laptop shut, tucking it under his arm. He and
DeLuca
approached us.

"Congratulations," said
DeLuca
offering us a handshake. Crane did the same.

"Thanks for everything," I told them.

They left moments later. Norris then walked over. "Did I hear you asking Danu about the mating for life quandary?"

Erik told him what his question had been.

Norris perked up. "And how did she answer?"

Erik told him that too.

The lawyer laughed. "I told Cassandra that Brody wasn't going to go away. He's a distraction for our daughter Cass, who used to run our estate for us while we traveled.
Guess we'd better give up and hire ourselves a manager." I heard him chuckle softly as he walked out the door. "It's a good thing we like that boy."

Chapter Sixteen

Erik and I celebrated by grabbing Chinese takeout. We wound up eating the egg rolls on the drive home. As I fed my driver, who needed to keep his eyes on the winding road, I thought about what my ancestor had said about me having magic within. Try as I might, I couldn't figure out what she could've meant if she wasn't referring to the shapeshifting. As for her saying my mother had sent Erik, just the thought gave me the good kind of chills. I'd never felt so…safe, I guess. The idea that she was watching over us made me very happy.

It was after 9:00 when we got to the cabin and quite dark. We got out of the Jeep. As before, Erik carried me across the snow and to the back step, while I clutched our sack of food that would definitely need reheating in the microwave.
Though we were laughing when we walked inside the shadowy cabin, both of us instantly sobered.
That smell.

We knew it.

Weres
.
Bad ones.

Erik put me down and shoved me behind him. He flicked on the light. Four men stood right in front of us. Three of them we knew well. The other one was a stranger--a stranger with a gun.

"Well, look
who's
here," said Red. "Surprised to see us?"

"Not really," I told him. "I knew you didn't have the brains to run when you had the chance."

"Don't, Bronte." It was Erik. Trying to keep me from pissing off our guests, I guess. I tried to get around him. He nudged me back.

Red thought that was hilarious. "Better listen to him." He motioned for his companions to step aside. "Why don't the two of you come in and take a seat on the couch so we can talk."

We reluctantly did, sitting so close together that our thighs brushed. Red sat in the chair, but Blondie and Buzz Cut walked over to stand near the fireplace beside the man I didn't know.

"We're here for a couple of reasons. First off, where's the laptop?" asked Red.

I glared at him. "I gave it to the
Corteggio
."

"Why?"

"I was hoping it would keep you out of our lives."

"Didn't work, though,
did
it?" Red smirked. "Here we are."

"Well, you've put yourself in danger for no reason. I have nothing you want now."

All of them
laughed,
a sound that sent a shiver up my spine.

"It's the truth. The laptop is gone. What else could you possibly want?"

"Did I tell you that the Arm doesn't forget or forgive?"

I didn't answer.

Erik spoke up. "Look, dude. The
Corteggio
is monitoring everything we do, as in all of us. Hell, they've probably already got men on the way. If you're smart, you'll leave before they get here. We'll tell them anything you want us to."

"We?"
They laughed again, but Erik and I didn't get the joke.

"The girl's coming with us, so the only one who'll be here is you, and you won't be much help to them." He flicked a glance at the gunman, who immediately raised his weapon. Even as Red's words registered, I shoved Erik to the couch cushions. The gun went off. Erik took me to the floor, immediately leaping up to lunge toward the shooter, who fired again. Erik's body jerked back. He dropped to his knees and then collapsed on the rug, clearly unconscious.  Or was he dead? A pool of red began to spread.

With my ears ringing so loudly I couldn't hear my own screams, I tried to crawl over to him. Someone yanked me to my feet before I could get there and manhandled me toward the door. Sobbing, I fought all the way and actually managed to trip up whoever had me.

"Enough of this shit!" A fist connected with my jaw. I saw stars and, in the midst of them, a blurry image of the love of my life, lying in a puddle of blood. Then I saw no more.

****

"She still out?"

"Looks like it. Maybe you hit the bitch too hard."

"Breathing?"

Someone put his smelly hand under my nose.
"Yeah."

"Then I didn't hit the bitch too hard."

I had no idea who was talking, though I thought I should've. For several seconds I just lay there, trying to get my bearings. I was in a moving car with my hands and ankles bound. I wasn't gagged or blindfolded. I had a horrible headache. I needed to pee.

Déjà vu.

This was not good.
So not good.

Memories of my life in captivity slammed me. I didn't open my eyes, but pretended to be unconscious in hopes that one of them would inadvertently give me a clue as to where we were going. Though they talked, no one gave anything away.

I'm not sure how long we were in that vehicle, which I assumed to be an SUV or van since it had third-row seating. I did know it couldn't have been more than a couple of hours…unless I'd been out for way longer than I guessed. When the vehicle finally halted on a gravel road, judging from the crunch underneath the wheels, I opened my eyes.
Yeah, an SUV.
Four guys with me, three of them
now piling
out of it.

When Buzz Cut reached back for me, our gazes clashed.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Texas."

Liar.
I knew exactly where we were the moment he dragged me into the frigid air, and it wasn't in Texas. We were at
Tablerock
Lake, where the
Hannigans
had vacationed countless times. I knew the terrain like the back of my hand--the mountains, the water, even the two-story cabin I was being carried into. Somehow that knowledge kept me calm.

"You'll never get away with this," I said when Buzz Cut dumped me on a couch. I quickly scanned the room, recognizing the wide-open "luxury layout" the
Hannigans
had never splurged on. Though we'd long eyed this particular cabin, we'd always gone with the cheaper one-story dwellings of Lake Shore Rentals.